Crammed in van 15 kids collapse
Imphal, May 23: In what could be termed as corrobo-ration of serious concern fre- quently highlighted by the pa-rents regarding their young kids transported in an un-friendly manner by school van operators and other transpor-ters, no less than 15 students.....
Mute/deaf student shines bright
IMPHAL, May 23: Pukhram-bam Juliana Chanu, who is virtually mute and has very low hearing capacity outshone a large number of her peers when she scored the highest mark (88 out of 100) in Philosophy apart from securing letter marks in four subjects in the.....
Obscurity clouds HSE '13 results
IMPHAL, May 23: Results of the class XII exam conducted by the Council of Higher Se-condary Education Manipur (COHSEM) have confused many people even as some others have started questioning if there were certain lapses or follies in the result. As per .....
Cabinet okays
IMPHAL, May 23: The State Cabinet has today given its approval for the recognition of three tribal dialects. Government Spokesperson, M Okendro said the three tribal dialects recognised by the State Government are Poumai, Liangmai and Gangte. Beside.....
DTO issues 3057 licences in a day
IMPHAL, May 23: One former District Transport Officer (DTO) of Ukhrul issued 3057 driving licences in a single day and the revenue thus collected never reached the Government’s coffer. One G Athui, then Inspector (Mechanical) was given the charge of .....
Educational facilities in Saitu inaugurated
IMPHAL, May 23: Along with inaugurating an Eklavya model residential school at Gamnom Saparmeina, Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam today dedicated two hostel buildings for scheduled tribe boys and girls students at the same area. Eklavya model resident.....
Ukhrul ADC
IMPHAL, May 23: The Ukhrul Autonomous District Council (ADC) has resolved to remove LN Kashung, CEO of Ukhrul ADC from his post for alleged ‘misconduct’ and ‘unbecoming act of a Govt servant’ under Section 32 (2) of the Manipur (Hill Areas) ADC Ac.....
HIV girl secures four letter marks in HSE
IMPHAL, May 23: It is a big morale booster and a source of inspiration to all children living with HIV that a girl living with HIV and undergoing ART secured letter marks in four subjects in the Higher Secondary Examination 2013 conducted by the Council o.....
Director inspects Govt model schools
IMPHAL, May 23: An official team of Directorate of Education (S) led by its Director H Deleep today inspected Wangkhei High School, Keishamthong High School and Lamding High School in connection with the introduction of Mentoring System at a few selected .....
Unidentified man locks Nambol school
IMPHAL, May 23: The Development Protection United Voluntary Organisation has urged the concerned to make a clarification on locking of Nambol Leirel High School by a person who identified himself as an RPF activist yesterday. In a press conference held.....
VA urges authority
IMPHAL, May 23: The Samulamlan Village Authority has urged the authority concerned to complete the installation of Mobile BTS at Samulamlan within June this year. A statement issued by the chief/chairman of Samulamlan VA, K Paohminglen said the VA woul.....
TSA admitted in ATSUM
IMPHAL, May 23: Thadou Students Association-General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ) has formally become the unit of All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM). Three of the TSA-GHQ 'officials' have also been inducted to the ATSUM fold today where an oath-takin.....
Kabow Leikai eviction Fasting prayer on May 26 followed by rally, meeting
IMPHAL, May 23: In the backdrop of the alleged forced eviction of Kabow Leikai, a fasting prayer would be organised on Sunday (May 26) in respective Church which would be followed by a peace rally and public meeting on May 27. This was decided during .....
BSF detects IED in Tbl
IMPHAL, May 23: Troops of 116th Bn BSF today detected an IED weighing around 10 Kgs at Wangjing Heituppokpi, Thoubal district. The bomb detected by BSF troops posted at Wangjing was retrieved by a bomb disposal squad of Manipur Police and they set of.....
PMS for SCs
IMPHAL, May 23: The 2nd phase lists of selected SC students of the State for the award of Post Matric Scholarship for the year 2012-13 were notified on the notice board of the Directorate of MOBC & SC located at Old Gauhati HC Complex and on the website w.....
Anniversary observed
IMPHAL, May 23: The Indian Dental Association (IDA), Manipur State Branch has celebrated the 24th anniversary function of the association on May 20 at Classic Hotel, Imphal. The programme was presided by Dr T Nabachandra Singh, president of the IDA (MS.....
Free diabetes camp
IMPHAL, May 23: A one-day diabetes free health camp was held today at Lecture Hall-2 of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Porompat. As chief guest of the event, North East Elderly Women chief editor RK Nayansana Devi noting that diabetes.....
Senapati prepares for Exchange programme
KANGGUI, May 22: Everything is set in order for the one day Cultural and Musical Exchange programme jointly organised by Senapati District Students Association and Kuki Students' Organization, Sadar Hills in association with Student Mobilization Initiati.....
JAC demands exemplary punishment against rapists
IMPHAL, May 23: JAC against the rape of a student of TG Hr Sec School on Oct 20, 2012 has urged the concerned authority to conduct the trial against the rapists fairly. A statement issued by the JAC today reminded that the number of crimes rises due to.....
Raphei Katamnao Long hails ADC
Ukhrul, May 23: The Northern Students’ Union (Raphei Katamnao Long), Ukhrul District has appreciated the ADC, Ukhrul for timely implementation of developmental projects in various departments particularly in the field of Education in the Northern area o.....
Manipur Masala
By : Sanatombi Angomcha
The creed of love sans rubbish religions
Would I be called an atheist when I get rid of a ‘Chanu’ or a ‘Devi’, being suffixed with my name? These suffixes purportedly identify my faith. Though I tend to avoid using any of these not-so-fascinating suffixation, sometimes I wonder if God is being politically incorrect in differentiating us on the grounds of religion. Why is religion given so much hype in our world? Why are the religious bigots continuously feeding on fanaticism? Can religion seriously contribute something in the shaping of an ideal society?
These questions keep disturbing me and unsurprisingly I have no answer. Perhaps I am just a confused person, lost in the religious complexities and all those moralities and mortality thingies.
Well, let me share a few personal experiences from my life on the religious clashes among individuals in our society. I grew up in a typical Hindu family. I enjoyed one such childhood period, listening to the words of wisdom from the Holy Geeta narrated by the late Karam Edhou. I enjoyed listening to his thoughts and the preaching on Hinduism and did enjoy most of the mera-mesh meal fondly shared with Edhou. Those memories are precious to me. I have grown up with many such good memories of those lessons on life that I have been taught by other edhou, bubok and many elderly persons who had left for their heavenly abode now. This was my father’s side.
My Ema, on the other hand, hails from a typical Meitei Marup family. My Keisampat Abok (my granny) had this tiny ‘khubam’ right at the courtyard. Around those days, she also introduced us the ‘heepu yaipubi’. On query, she replied Heepu Yaipubi is the Meitei version of Goddess Lakhsmi. The realisation amused me and I started developing a notion that God, no matter which one we worship, is known by a lot of names.
Since then, I had been fond of Sanamahism as much as I had been worshipping Hinduism or Christianity. Nonetheless, I have keenly observed the religious conflicts between my Wangkhei bubok and Keisampat abok during those days. It seemed to me as though they were born to dislike each other just because they followed different faith. They hardly came into terms with each other. Our two buboks would not show it openly but all of us know in their silence what was really going on between them.
As I grow up and see, hear and learn the truth, I have started disliking Hinduism and have almost denounced my faith, especially after knowing about how it was imposed in our society in the most forcible and barbaric manner. This fact has been etched on my mind. It’s like robbing and ruining all the good memories of childhood and I am equally helpless. I have started questioning my then beliefs on the various philosophies of Hinduism. But tell you what? I am not doing the right thing.
What had to happen had already happened, however hopefully, what can happen in the future is now entirely up to us. An enlightenment that leads to constructive thoughts is worth accepting but not the one that tinctures hatred on our mind for reasons that are best kept in the dark. We should have an open choice to follow our preferred faith or belief. Secularism should be promoted for an egalitarian society, but religion should not be misused as a lousy political tool. The more we misuse it, the more chaos we are prone to create in the society. Let us limit the use of religion. And the best thing is to keep in the closet of our private space.
Follow any religion you want to follow, who cares? Even if you want to worship Satan, it’s your choice. But make sure that you respect others who follow their choice of religion. Hatred cannot be a solution to rectify the blunder from the past. No religious book teaches us to spread loathsome philosophies. You are as much a Meitei whether you worship Pakhangba or Krishna. You are as much a Manipuri whether you follow Christianity or Islam. Let us stop building all these narrow domestic walls. Though the question of losing one’s identity after following a foreign faith can be kept aside for deliberations some other time.
I did not have any particular reason of denouncing my faith. I just have this feeling that religion cripples our view and make us petty. For example, if you introduce yourself as a Hindu, you are just a Hindu. It seems like building a narrow domestic wall when you differentiate yourself from others as a Hindu. So, I find it a much better option to denounce any faith. Instead of worshiping idols or chanting hymns, it’s better to hum songs of love for mankind. Let us believe in spreading happiness. Let us believe in making this world a better place to reside. Let us believe in peace not war. Let us abolish hatred. We need to manifest and infect one another with stirring ideas of social and political change. Manipur is laid back in civilization in almost all the sectors. Let us focus more on how we can chip in with our ideas of civilization.
It is not a death-dream to see a prosperous Manipur, if we all become united as Manipuris, and not as Meitei, Paangal or Hao. Let us join the global march in this progression of civilization. Let us not waste our time quarrelling or philandering on trivial issues. Always be a Manipuri first... we can be a hao, a meitei or a paangan later. Theism or atheism, today what we need in our world is love.
hitler pamei
in my opinion we should go for the best religion and avoid the worst.if u hav been studyin n observin the diff religions,ur answer will always be atheism coz human knowledges is limited by God. if u beliv in atheism u r lost.science n technology can nevr explain religion.there r diff stories in diff faiths.let us find out which one is the best.ur ways of livin is base on ur religion.God has promised to bless his word n to cause it to bear fruit that wil honor him. God bless every one of us
DOM Haokip
It was fun to red this article until the last line. I strongly detest the use of the word "xxx". I knw the author must have without any wrong intention. But the tribals of Manipur abhor to be called by this term. The tribals of manipur are no less developed and civlized than the valley brothers. I urge every author not to use this politically incorrect word ever again in any form of print media.
Mr J
Sanatombi,your write up is from humanistic angle. Very good if everybody response positively.In myopic sense,Manipur is burning with ethnic conflict promoted by Christian missionaries.The concept of Naga and Kuki born as political entities.In Assam,NDBF,Rabha viper force,Karbi militants, who want separate states from the present Assam all r the creation Christian Missionaries.In case of Meite, there is no difference between Hindu, meitei rarup and Muslim sharing common Surname style & language.
James Rajkumar
At last, a very interesting topic. Very good. Really enjoyed reading this article. I truly respect your view towards religion and its influence towards differentiating people. We all must be open-minded and only then can we make our homeland peaceful and prosperous again, regardless of the religion we follow. God bless us all!
Mohd. Jawed
Becos of not religious crime is created,if there were religious no foeticides or killing of female child would occur in rajasthan,maharastra etc,we sud know what is the purpose of God created humankind nd what will happen after dead,message of God is same almost in every holy books,why we are so much neglect to adopt a commonality,without religion a nation can never be developed,so let us bring out all religious books-Geeta,Bible,Quran etc nd study what is common nd let's accept it.
Manipuri
@ Dom, I think it is fine with Sanatombi's usage of the word xxx or paangan. There is nothing wrong in using any of these words. Maybe she is trying to add a typical flavour to her write up by using a local word. Using tribal instead of xxx would also mean the same right?
DOM HAOKIP
@manipuri..how can u say there is nothing wrong wen ur called barbaric..would u like to be called barbaric?..local flavour or wat ever flavour you may called it..Tribals don't like to be address as "Hao". MIND IT...
Non-tribal
@DOM HAOKIP, why did you call meitei a meitei? Just call them non-tribal or non-xxx. The word "xxx" is a very sweet local word. We are the one who've mis-used it.
Most advanced
Hao or how which one is meaningful i think it is better to ues how as an american style cos u sud adopt not only dressing style of naked america looking like naked african living in jungle who are most advanced cos of naked style,this days if u are more naked u are considered to be more advance tought in american churches so dog,cat,rat,lion ,tiger,chicken etc are the most advanced cos of more naked.
damn
mr.Dom haokip is right the word "xxx" should nevr reused ever again.that's not a way to address to ur own brethrens.as u know the meanin of xxx which mean uncivilised/barbaric ain't deserve by any community.today tribal standard of livin is higher than the non_christian meitei in many ways though meiteis has got thousands of brick buildings.lets compare if u dare.
KeenObserver
Awesome article LOVE it. Whatever it takes to unite each others truth should stand constant for forever. I do agree that difference between each religion makes us different but finding the truth of origin and knowing makes us proud. Even I grew up in a typical HINDU family but I have grown enough to understand the fact and its not so harm to know the fact though. Thank You
Non-tribal
@damn. Haos and meeteis are now comparable, haos may develop much faster and beat the meiteis in future. But the development doesn't mean that the word "hao" should be changed to "american" or to "astronaut". I believe the word "hao" is a very sweet word (though conflicting a bit in it's originality). Whatever, good or bad, it's the origin of our culture and tradition. We meiteis were haos. There's nothing wrong when someone say we were barbaric in ancient times, rather I am proud of it.
Non-tribal
Meiteis are living with so much proud. Why meiteis are so proud of their rich history, culture and traditions? Meiteis are very proud because they were haos. They are very proud because their ancestors were haos. Haos are the only people original to Kangleipak/Manipur. Do not play the game in the name of british word "Tribal". Hating the word "Hao" will badly ruin our civilization.
Nadine Haven
Hi, really like the appearance of ones website. Can you mind saying what theme youre making use of? I’m not used to this and i am hoping to have mine looking anywhere close to cool as yours. Many thanks.
Peace
My family is like color of Beneton and so is our state. Why should we says to one another as "You-Hao Macha, You-Meitei macha" instead let us call as "my brethren". We all are human being under big sky. I do not want to be call as Naga's or Meitei's. I am just a human being like you all. I hope whoever love Peace will understand what I mean.
